PLANET IN PERIL

National Geographic And fires like the ones raging in Indonesia can cross mountains and oceans, spreading lung-clogging particles and toxic chemicals. Story here.

theguardian  The blaze, which has burned for two months on indigenous land and spread across 100km at its peak, is suspected to have been started by illegal loggers. Story here.

TheGuardian Nineteen people have died and half a million have fallen ill in two months as haze from thousands of fires chokes south-east Asia. Details here.

Common Dreams 'An extremely dangerous, potentially catastrophic hurricane,' warns the National Hurricane Center. Story here.

MyToba If you live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, you may have noticed ladybugs lately.  A lot of ladybugs.  It turns out our unseasonably warm weather is to blame. Ladybugs hibernate, and the warmer weather fooled them into thinking it was spring. Story here. RELATED:  " Climate Change Will Have Big Effects On Spring And Winter "

CBC News Manitoba Hydro crews wait for first light to fly into communities left without power Sunday. Details here.

Manitoba Co-Operator CNS Canada – – Farmers have seen more weather-related hardships this year than normal, made evident by an above-average amount of hail and reseed damage claims. Story here.

CLIMATE CENTRAL When California officials went out on April 1 this year to measure the amount of snow that had accumulated on mountain slopes over the winter, they were met with bleak scenes of dried, brown grass. The snowpack was so bad — a measly 6 percent of normal — that there was nothing like it in the 120 years of records. STORY HERE.

Los Angeles Times More than 500 homes have been destroyed in a wildfire that is burning in Calaveras and Amador counties. Story here.

Los Angeles Times The number of victims from massive wildfires raking Northern California has grown to five, with two more bodies recovered in the Valley Fire.  Story here.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Unprecedented rain in Japan unleashed heavy floods on Friday that tore houses from their foundations, uprooted trees and forced more than 100,000 people from their homes. Story here.

Common Dreams Record set for hottest month of the year puts 2015 on track to be hottest year ever recorded... and the consequences are mounting. Story here. PinP photo

Photo credit - APTN. (A version of this letter was published yesterday in the Neepawa Press.) Dear Editor,  I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding. My recent letter in the Neepawa Press, "It's time to wake up and smell the smoke,"  has brought quite a negative response from friends and others. The misunderstanding is over the "link" that I drew between wildfires and manmade climate change. My critics apparently think such a link was my own creation!  Nothing could be further from the truth!  I was merely the messenger!

USA TODAY While most attention has focused on the lingering drought in California, a "flash" drought has spun up in the past few weeks across much of the South, from Texas to the Carolinas. STORY HERE.

Los Angeles Times It started in October 1997 in Mexico, when a hurricane fueled by El Niño slammed into Acapulco, causing massive flooding and hundreds of deaths.  Details here.

CLIMATE PROGRESS Wildfires continue to rage in California, where the largest of the 21 blazes covered 65,000 acres Tuesday morning and has killed at least one person. Details here.

UN News Service. Many parts of Europe have been impacted by a severe and unusually early heatwave since 27 June, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has said, warning of record-breaking temperatures and wildfires in North America and torrential downpours and widespread flooding in southern China. Story here.

CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK NGOs have today welcomed Pope Francis’ strong moral case for people and leaders to tackle climate change delivered in today’s historic Papal Encyclical . Story here.

CLIMATEPROGRESS Commercial and recreational fisheries up and down the West Coast have been forced to close as a result of a massive toxic algal bloom, which scientists are describing as one of the largest in history. Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator PinP photo Close to a million Manitoba acres could get reseeded and 90 per cent of them were canola. Story here.